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License plate renewal reminders to be mailed again

8/5/2016

License plate renewal reminders to be mailed again

Illinois drivers will once again receive a reminder letter to renew their yearly license plate sticker from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. The Secretary of State’s Office says funds from the recent stopgap budget allow vehicle registration reminder letters to be reinstated. The practice of mailing reminders was halted in October due to the previous budget impasse.

A spokesman for the office said the mailings would be reinstated immediately. Motorists whose license plate stickers will expire toward the end of August will be the first to receive the mailed reminders.

Though the Secretary of State’s office urged motorists to sign up for electronic reminders, thousands still failed to renew their license plate stickers in a timely manner. As a result, many motorists were subsequently ticketed by law enforcement or paid late fees for expired license plate stickers.

A State Journal-Register article reported that from January to mid-July, about 563,400 motorists were assessed more than $11 million in late fees for failing to renew license plate stickers on time. During the same period in 2015, when renewal notices were still being mailed, about 252,700 motorists paid $5.5 million in late fees.

To help with the costs of mailing reminders, the Secretary of State’s Office says they are drafting legislation that would allow advertising on the mailings. Those that sign up for email reminders are removed from the office’s mailing list, which also helps reduce associated postage costs. Drivers can sign up for email notifications by visiting www.cyberdriveillinois.com.

To register for the program, vehicle owners need their assigned registration ID and PIN. That can be found on their current vehicle registration card. If that information is not available, motorists can call the Secretary of State public inquiry division at 1-800-252-8980 to obtain their Registration ID and PIN. Vehicle owners will then receive a series of three email notices per vehicle each year detailing the upcoming vehicle expiration date.